Some Star Wars tales further the big adventure along with indispensable plot or character developments that fans of the series absolutely must know. Others are less critical to the saga but provide new insights or information that are valuable to any true collector.

The three stories compiled in Allies & Adversaries are neither of these. The tales are fillers, nothing more, and to that extent they are successful at what they set out to accomplish.

BoShek, a smuggler seen only briefly in the cantina scene of A New Hope, is pulled into a conflict between Rebels and Imperial troops when he rescues a beautiful woman from capture. Han Solo is taken by an unscrupulous information broker after being sold out by an old girlfriend who suspects he has secret ties to the Rebel Alliance. And Luke Skywalker touches history when he finds a Clone Trooper who was left behind on an uninhabited planet two decades before -- and who still owes his allegiance to the Jedi generals who once led him, even if that meets fighting Imperial stormtroopers now.

The three stories -- "The Bravery of Being Out of Range," written and illustrated by Jeremy Barlow and Brandon Badeaux; "Idiot's Array," written and illustrated by Ron Marz, Jeff Johnson and Joe Corroney; and "General Skywalker," written and illustrated by Ron Marz, Adriana Melo and Nicola Scott -- are a brief source of entertainment, but they don't leave you feeling as if anything momentous has occurred. But hey, if your purpose here is just to get a little Star Wars fix, these should keep you going for a little while longer.